This social listening analysis sought to examine patient perspective on health care professional (HCP)-patient communication to learn how those communications may help or hinder their relationship.

Communication between HCPs and patients shapes the therapeutic relationship, and the patient perspective on that communication can impact patient satisfaction with the HCP treating their migraine symptoms.

MyMigraineTeam is a social network hosted by MyHealthTeams for patients with migraine. Using a qualitative, passive methodology of social listening, MyHealthTeams examined posts, comments, questions and answers, and stories from members from January 2020 to March 2021 about their interactions with the HCP treating their migraine symptoms. This analysis was limited to adult members in the US who discussed this topic unaided.

Researchers analyzed conversations from 162 members active on MyMigraineTeam. Members were predominantly female (96%) with a mean age of 50.7 years (range, 24-76). They characterized HCP-patient communications as positive when HCPs demonstrated that they listened well, empathized, and took time with the patient; took migraine diagnosis seriously (including assessing impact on quality of life); problem solved (eg, determining effective medication); and were willing to coordinate care between primary care professional and neurologist. In contrast, members characterized HCP-patient communications as negative when HCPs demonstrated the following: dismissal or disregard of patient’s concerns, inability to offer alternative treatment solutions or provide sufficient symptom relief, unresponsiveness (eg, not returning calls), or, if primary care professionals, lack of adequate knowledge of the disease state and/or treatment options or unwillingness to refer to a specialist.    

Effective patient-HCP communication is essential for optimal patient satisfaction and treatment. This social listening analysis of patients with migraine suggests a need for a quantitative study to explore further elements of positive and negative communications and their impact on patient outcomes.